United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs

The standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new bills or amendments concerning U.S. military veterans. Jurisdiction includes retiring and disability pensions, life insurance, education (including the G.I. Bill), vocational training, medical care, and home loan guarantees. The committee oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), veterans' hospitals, and veterans' cemeteries, except cemeteries under the Secretary of the Interior.

The Veterans' Affairs Committee does not have legislative jurisdiction over the following issues:

• Tax status of veterans benefits and contributions to Veterans Service Organizations (Committee on Ways and Means);
• Military retiree issues, including COLA's and disability pay (Committee on Armed Services);
• CHAMPUS and Tri-Care (Committee on Armed Services);
• Survivor Benefit Program (Committee on Armed Services);
• Veterans Preference in Federal civil service hiring practice (Committee on Government Reform and Oversight);
• Congressional charters for veterans service organizations (Committee on Judiciary);
• Immigration issues relating to veterans (Committee on Judiciary); and
• Issues dealing with Prisoners of War (POWs) and service members missing in action (MIAs) (Committee on Armed Services)

The committee was created by Section 121(a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (Public Law 79-601), which authorized a standing committee of 27 members.

Members, 119th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (R), (D)

According to committee members' official online biographies, ten (Barrett, Bergman, Bost, Conaway, Hamadeh, Kiggans, Luttrell, Miller-Meeks, Self, and Van Orden) of the twenty-six members are veterans.

Subcommittees

Leadership

Chairs of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and its predecessors are listed below.

Committee on Claims (1794–1880)

• Uriah Tracy (F), CT 1794–1796
• Dwight Foster (F), MA 1796–1800
• Nathaniel Macon (D), NC 1800–1801
• John Smith (F), CT 1801–1806
• David Holmes (NP), VA 1806–1809
• Richard Johnson (D), KY 1809–1810
• Erastus Root (D), NY 1810–1811
• Burwell Bassett (D), VA 1811–1812
• Thomas Gholson (D), VA 1812–1813
• Stevenson Archer (D), MD 1813–1814
• Bartlett Yancey (NP), NC 1814–1816
• Lewis Williams (NP), NC 1816–1828
• William McCoy (D), VA 1828–1829
• Elisha Whittlesey (NP), OH 1829–1838
• John Chambers (W), KY 1838–1839
• David Russell (W), NY 1839–1840
• Joshua Giddings (ASW), OH 1840–1843
• Joseph Vance (W), OH 1843–1846
• John R. J. Daniel (D), NC 1846–1847
• John A. Rockwell (W), CT 1847–1849
• John R. J. Daniel (D), NC 1849–1853
• Alfred Edgerton (D), OH 1853–1855
• Joshua Giddings (ASW), OH 1855–1857
• Samuel S. Marshall (D), IL 1857–1859
• Mason Tappan (R), NH 1859–1861
• Reuben Fenton (R), NY 1861-1863
• James Hale (R), PA 1863–1864
• Columbus Delano (R), OH 1864–1867
• John Bingham (R), OH 1867–1869
• William B. Washburn (R), MA 1869–1871
• Austin Blair (R), MI 1871–1873
• John B. Hawley (R), IL 1873–1875
• John M. Bright (D), TN 1875–1880

Committee on Pensions and Revolutionary Claims (1813–1826)

• Samuel D. Ingham (Je. D), PA 1813–1814
• John Chappell (SRWD), SC 1814–1816
• John Rhea (D), TN 1816–1823
• Peter Little (D), MD 1823–1826

Committee on Revolutionary Pensions (1825)

Committee on Military Pensions (1825–1831)

Committee on Revolutionary Claims (1825–1974)

• Robert Allen (D), TN 1825–1827
• George Wolf (D), PA 1827–1829
• Henry Muhlenberg (JD), PA 1829–1838
• Robert Craig (D), VA 1838–1840
• Joseph Randolph (W), NJ 1840–1841
• Hiland Hall (W), VT 1841–1843
• Richard D. Davis (D), NY 1843–1845
• Joseph Johnson (D), VA 1845–1847
• Daniel P. King (W), MA 1847–1849
• Cullen Sawtelle (D), ME 1849–1851
• Moses Macdonald (D), ME 1851–1853
• Rufus Peckham (D), NY 1853–1855
• David Ritchie (R), PA 1855–1857
• Samuel S. Cox (D), OH 1857–1859
• George Briggs (AP), NY 1859–1861
• R. Holland Duell (R), NY 1861–1863
• Hiram Price (R), IA 1863–1865
• Kellian Whaley (R), WV 1865–1867
• Hamilton Ward (R), NY 1867–1869
• Sempronius H. Boyd (R), MO 1868–1871
• Alexander S. Wallace (R), SC 1871–1873

Committee on Invalid Pensions (1831–1946)

• Tristam Burges (NP), RI 1831–1835
• Jesse Miller (D), PA 1835–1836
• James M. H. Beale (D), VA 1836–1837
• William Taylor (D), NY 1837–1839
• Sherrod Williams (W), KY 1839–1841
• Calvary Morris (W), OH 1841–1843
• Jacob Brinkerhoff (D), OH 1843–1846
• Preston King (D), NY 1846–1847
• Henry Nes (I), PA 1848–1849
• Andrew S. Fulton (W), VA 1849–1850
• Shepherd Leffler (D), IA 1850–1852
• Isham G. Harris (D), TN 1852–1853
• Thomas A. Hendricks (D), IN 1853–1855
• Andrew Oliver (D), NY 1855–1857
• Joshua Jewett (D), KY 1857–1859
• Reuben Fenton (R), NY 1859–1861
• Alfred Ely (R), NY 1861–1863
• Kellian Whaley (R), WV 1863–1864
• Sidney Perham (R), ME 1864–1869
• John F. Benjamin (RR), MO 1869–1871
• Jesse H. Moore (R), IL 1871–1873
• Jeremiah M. Rusk (R), WI 1873–1875
• George A. Jenks (D), PA 1875–1877
• Americus V. Rice (D), OH 1877–1879
• Alexander H. Coffroth (D), PA 1879–1880
• Thomas M. Browne (R), IN 1880–1882
• Courtland C. Matson (D), IN 1883–1889
• Edmund N. Morrill (R), KS 1889–1891
• Augustus N. Martin (D) IN 1891–1895
• John Pickler (R), SD 1895–1896
• George W. Ray (R), NY 1896–1899
• Cyrus A. Sulloway (R), NH 1899–1911
• Isaac R. Sherwood (D), OH 1911–1919
• Charles Fuller (R), IL 1919–1925
• Richard N. Elliott (R), IN 1925–1926
• William I. Swoope (R), PA 1926–1927
• William T. Fitzgerald (R), OH 1927–1929
• John M. Nelson (R), WI 1929–1931
• Mell G. Underwood (D), OH 1931–1936
• John Lesinski (D), MI 1937–1945
• Augustine B. Kelley (D), PA 1946

Committee on Revolutionary Pensions (1831–1880)

• Henry Hubbard (D), NH 1831–1833
• Daniel Wardwell (R), NY 1833–1837
• William S. Morgan (D), VA 1837–1839
• John Taliaferro (W), VA 1839–1843
• George O. Rathbun (D), NY 1843–1844
• David L. Seymour (D), NY 1844–1845
• Richard Brodhead (D), PA 1845–1847
• William Cocke (D), TN 1847–1849
• Loren P. Waldo (D), CT 1849–1851
• John Millson (D), VA 1851–1853
• William M. Churchwell (D), TN 1853–1855
• Jacob Broom (AW), PA 1855–1856
• John Hickman (R), PA 1856–1860
• John F. Potter (R), WI 1860–1861
• Charles Van Wyck (R), NY 1861–1863
• DeWitt Littlejohn (R), NY 1863–1865
• Walter D. McIndoe (R), WI 1865–1867
• Benjamin F. Loan (Rad), MO 1867–1869
• John T. Deweese (D), NC 1969
• Charles W. Willard (R), VT 1869–1873
• Lazarus D. Shoemaker (R), PA 1873–1875
• Eppa Hunton (D), VA 1875–1877
• Levi A. Mackey (D), PA 1877–1879
• John Whiteaker (D), OR 1879–1880

Committee on War Claims (1873–1946)

• William Lawrence (R), OH 1873–1875
• John R. Eden (D), IL 1875–1879
• Edward S. Bragg (D), WI 1879–1881
• Leonidas C. Houk (R), TN 1881–1883
• George W. Geddes (D), OH 1883–1887
• William J. Stone (D), KY 1887–1889
• Ormsby B. Thomas (R), WI 1889–1891
• Frank E. Beltzhoover (D), PA 1891–1895
• Thaddeus M. Mahon (R), PA 1895–1907
• Kittredge Haskins (R), VT 1907–1909
• Charles B. Law (R), NY 1909–1911
• Thetus W. Sims (D), TN 1911–1913
• Alexander W. Gregg (D), TX 1913–1919
• Benjamin K. Focht (R), PA 1919–1921
• Bertrand Snell (R), NY 1921–1923
• James G. Strong (R), KS 1923–1930
• Miles C. Allgood (D), AL 1931–1934
• Wilburn Cartwright (D), OK 1935
• John H. Hoeppel (D), CA 1936
• Joseph A. Gavagan (D), NY 1937
• Alfred F. Beiter (D), NY 1938
• Reuben T. Wood (D), MO 1939–1941
• Joseph A. Gavagan (D), NY 1941–1944
• Edward J. Hart (D), NJ 1944
• Clair Engle (D), CA 1945–1946

Committee on Pensions (1880–1946)

Committee on World War Veterans Legislation (1924–1946)

Committee on Veterans' Affairs (1947–present)

<div style=display:inline-grid>

</div> <div style=display:inline-grid>

</div>

Past committee rosters

118th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (R)

According to committee members' official online biographies, seven (Bergman, Brown, Ellzey, Luria, Miller-Meeks, Nehls and Sablan) of the thirty-one members are veterans.

Subcommittees

117th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (R), (D), (D), (R), (D), (R)

According to committee members' official online biographies, ten (Banks, Bergman, Brown, Ellzey, Gallego, Lamb, Luria, Miller-Meeks, Nehls and Sablan) of the thirty-one members are veterans.

Subcommittees

116th Congress

Sources: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (R), (D), (D)

According to committee members' official online biographies, thirteen (Banks, Bergman, Bost, Cisneros, Dunn, Lamb, Luria, Peterson, Roe, Rose, Sablan, Steube, Watkins) of the twenty-eight members are veterans.

Subcommittees

115th Congress

Sources: (Chair), (D), (R), (D), (D)

According to committee members' official online biographies, eleven (Banks, Bergman, Bost, Coffman, Dunn, Higgins, Lamb, Roe, Sablan, Walz, Wenstrup) of the twenty-five members are veterans.

114th Congress

Resolutions electing Republican members: (Chairs)<br>Resolutions electing Democratic members: , , and

See also

• United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
• United States Department of Veterans Affairs
• List of United States House of Representatives committees

References

External links

• House Committee on Veterans' Affairs (Archive)
• House Veterans' Affairs Committee. Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov.
• United States Department of Veterans' Affairs
• https://congress.gov/committees/video/house-veterans-affairs/hsvr00House Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearings and Meetings Videos
• Active legislation passing through the Committee on Veterans' Affairs can be found here